Roy Thomson

Life & Legacy

Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet, (5 June 1894 – 4 August 1976) was a Canadian-born British newspaper proprietor who became one of the moguls of Fleet Street in London.
He first came to prominence when he was selling radios in Ontario, and to give his customers more programmes to listen to, decided to launch his own radio station. He then moved into newspapers, becoming as wealthy and important in Canada as the press barons in the United Kingdom. He aspired to a peerage but was denied it unless he moved residence to the UK. He invited British newspaper owners to sell to him, with The Scotsman being the first to do so. He later formed a commercial television company, and gained the first ITV franchise in Scotland, Scottish Television, which today is known as STV. From the substantial profits of commercial television, he bought many titles such as The Times and Kemsley Newspapers which published The Sunday Times.